La Grande police budget faces pressure as city reviews public safety funding

If La Grande trims police funding, residents are likely to notice first in slower response times, fewer patrols on nights and weekends, and less room for overtime when major calls pile up. The La Grande Police Department runs 24/7 and handles patrol, investigations, code enforcement and dispatch, so pressure on its budget reaches far beyond internal bookkeeping.

The city posted its Fiscal Year 2026-2027 proposed budget notice on April 21, and budget hearings are set for May 11-13 at Cook Memorial Library. The La Grande Budget Committee includes the City Council and seven members of the public, putting city leaders and residents in the same room as they weigh what the department can sustain.

Chief Jason Hays is at the center of that discussion. The city named Hays police chief effective February 20, with a formal swearing-in planned for March 4. A local profile said Hays moved to La Grande in 1986, served as a Navy medic and in the Marine Corps, graduated from Eastern Oregon University and spent 20 years in the La Grande Police Department, including leadership of the Drug Task Force. That profile also said the department had 36 members, with three new officers and two vacancies open.

The staffing picture has already shown strain. In a 2025 city budget item, the department was authorized for 19 sworn officers but had 17 on staff because of hiring lag. That kind of shortfall matters in a smaller city where the same officers must cover routine patrol, investigations, traffic enforcement and emergency calls, often while backing up the Union County Sheriff's Office and Oregon State Police when calls overlap.

Budget pressure is not new in La Grande. In June 2025, the city adopted a $19 million general fund budget and acknowledged a $5 million deficit, including about $1.2 million in operating deficit. That same cycle brought conflict over the Union County Drug Task Force, after the sheriff said the police department’s proposed budget had included additional staffing for the task force before that request was cut before the council saw it.

The city has also been studying longer-term needs. In late 2023 and early 2024, La Grande funded a consultant review of police department facility needs and held a work session on a facility report. Those steps suggested the city was already confronting the cost of keeping the department’s building, staffing and operations aligned with current demand.

As city officials move through this year’s budget, the key question is not just how much money the police department receives. It is whether La Grande can keep a 24-hour police service fully staffed enough to answer urgent calls, keep officers visible on the streets and avoid pushing more strain onto neighboring agencies when the next tight budget arrives.